With the development and deployment of wireless networking devices and infrastructures, consumers and businesses are increasingly being able to realize the benefits of true mobile computing, collaboration, and information exchange. No longer are business travelers required to carry an assortment of cables and search endlessly for an available data port simply to connect to a network to retrieve email messages, download files, or exchange information. No longer are companies and home consumers restrained in where they may access their networks by the location of the Ethernet jacks on the wall. Meeting participants and groups of friends may now form their own ad hoc networks without connecting cables between themselves or logging in to some preexisting network.
However, while the concept of mobile computing on wireless networks is well accepted, the implementation of this concept has taken on many forms. That is, there now exists several different wireless protocol standards that are competing in the marketplace. These standards include 802.11b (also know as Wi-Fi for wireless fidelity), 802.11a (also know as Wi-Fi5), 802.11g, HomeRF, Bluetooth, Wireless 1394, HiperLAN2, UWB, ZigBee, etc. Each of these different standards have particular advantages and were and are being developed with particular applications and users in mind. Unfortunately, these standards are not compatible with one another and do not allow interoperability of wireless devices implementing these different standards.
Of these standards, 802.11b, 802.11g, HomeRF, Bluetooth, and Zigbee operate over the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band. The IEEE 802.11b standard (Wi-Fi) provides wireless transmission of up to 11 Mbps of data at distances ranging up to 300 feet indoors to well over 1000 feet line-of-sight outdoors. The distance depends on impediments, materials, and line of sight. 802.11b is an extension of Ethernet to wireless communication. The standard is backward compatible to earlier specifications, known as 802.11, allowing speeds of 1, 2, 5.5 and 11 Mbps on the same transmitters. The 802.11g standard is being developed as a high rate Wi-Fi standard, allowing data rates above 22 Mbps. The standard requires orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which allows for data rates up to 54 Mbps. The standard also allows for the use of packet binary convolutional code (PBCC), which provides data rates up to 22 Mbps (later version up to 33 Mbps), and complementary code keying-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CCK-OFDM), which provides data rates up to 33+ Mbps.
HomeRF initially provided data rates of only 2 Mbps, but have now been able to increase up to 10 Mbps with release of version 2.0 of its specification. The primary advantage of HomeRF is the integration of voice and data into its baseline data transmission. As such, HomeRF hubs allow the use of cordless phone handsets as well as computers for transmitting data. Bluetooth also utilizes the 2.4 GHz band and is a low-bandwidth, short-range (approximately 30 feet), low-power synchronization and data transfer protocol, not meant for true full-blown networking. This allows small devices such as personal digital assistance (PDAs), laptops, cell phones, etc. to exchange information without a full TCP/IP stack.
Two of the wireless standards introduced above operate over the 5 GHz band. These include 802.11a and the European HiperLAN2 standards. The IEEE 802.11a standard (Wi-Fi5) provides wireless transmission of up to 54 Mbps of data. While the Wi-Fi5 data rates are higher due to the higher frequency and greater bandwidth allotment, because the same power limits apply, Wi-Fi5 range is limited to only a few dozen feet. Hiperlan2 is being developed for deployment in Europe and utilizes similar technologies as 802.11a. Indeed, the physical layers (PHYs) are almost identical. The main differences are at the media access control (MAC) layer. The 802.11a's MAC provides ‘wireless Ethernet’ functionality and was extended to this band from the 802.11 b's specification. In contrast, HiperLAN2 supports time critical services as well as asynchronous data. HiperLAN2 is compatible with various networks and includes transmit power control and dynamic frequency selection, which should provide greater spectrum efficiency and lower interference with other systems operating on 5 GHz.
Because of the existence of these multiple standards and the deployment of various devices that implement them, the manufactures of the radio chips have started supporting multiple standards on a single chip. In this way, they can keep their manufacturing costs down and increase their market share by supplying their chips to device manufactures regardless of the particular standard that that device supports. Indeed, this multiple standard support on the chips has now enabled the device manufactures to provide devices that can communicate via these different standards.
However, while the ability to support multiple standards on wireless devices is clear, the selection mechanism is not. That is, while the device may include a chip that enables communication via one of multiple standards, the users are still required to select which standard to use in a particular computing situation. The user must know the standard utilized by the network or other wireless device to which the user wishes to connect and must select that standard for operation. The multiple standard support provided by Atheros Communications, Inc. in their Atheros Combo Chipset includes SmartSelect™ technology which claims to transparently connect to 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g networks. The chip purportedly automatically chooses the optimal RF technology (a/big), rate adaptation and error correction methods, power reduction and internationalization features, and security protocol for a wireless network, and dynamically adapts to changing conditions as the user roams within that network.
Unfortunately, the user may specify other preferences for selection of a wireless standard when many standards are available for use. These preferences may override the chip's determination of what is optimal from a signal strength standpoint. Further, while the chip may vary its operating parameters as conditions change (e.g. increase power utilization, decrease or increase data rate, etc.), there is no mechanism that allows seamless transfer to another wireless standard. There exists a need, therefore, for a system and method that will discover the wireless capabilities of other wireless peers and access points (APs) and that will configure the wireless peers and APs to communicate using a compatible wireless protocol based on user preferences. Further, there is a need for a system and method that will allow transfer to different wireless standards based on network conditions, type of data to be transferred, user preferences, etc.